The CTA wants to extend the contract of the referee who has most harmed Barça

BarcelonaThe Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) is considering extending César Soto Grado's contract for another season. This decision was not in the initial plans of the current refereeing leadership, but they are forced into it due to the poor performance of the refereeing staff this season.

The referee from La Rioja already renewed last summer In a decision surrounded by controversy, former referees' president Luis Medina Cantalejo had planned to appoint Soto Grado to officiate the Copa del Rey final between Barça and Real Madrid, hoping it would be the crowning achievement of his career before retirement. Days before the appointment, Medina Cantalejo learned that the referee was pulling strings to extend his stay in the First Division. The reaction was swift, and the president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) decided to remove him from the final and replace him with Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea. Once the 2024/25 season concluded, the change in leadership at the Referees' Committee was made official. The new leadership, headed by Fran Soto, opted to keep Soto Grado on the roster. The decision surprised many within the refereeing community, as there was no sporting justification for renewing his contract. Internationally, UEFA does not count on him, and his presence in European matches is practically nonexistent. However, the CTA understood his continued presence as a way to maintain an experienced profile during a time of transition.

The level of officiating, in decline

This season began with an exciting project and several reforms aimed at reversing the situation of recent years. However, as the weeks have passed, the level shown by the referees has once again brought controversy to the forefront. The Technical Committee of the CTA (Technical Committee of Referees) paints a worrying picture. Gil Manzano, until now the leading figure in the group, has regressed to the point of being left out of the running for the World Championship. Muñiz Ruiz, from Galicia, is likely to lose his international status. The recently promoted Galech Apezteguía and Guzmán Mansilla have struggled to adapt to the elite level, and Busquets Ferrer, one of last season's revelations, has lost his edge. To this already bleak outlook, we must add... A VAR system that still fails to correct many of the errors that occur on the field and which is mostly made up of retired or relegated referees. The only exception is the Catalan García Verdura, who has become the great positive surprise of the season and is ranked as the best referee in the category this season.

Given this scenario, the CTA considers that Soto Grado remains a useful member of the team. His appointment to referee one of the Copa del Rey semifinals practically rules him out for the final and, at the same time, suggests that the Committee is counting on him for next season.

Barça is in disbelief

Soto Grado's internal standing within the CTA (Technical Committee of Referees) contrasts sharply with the perception held by a large part of the Barcelona community. He is seen as one of the referees who has made the most controversial decisions against the Blaugrana. The statistics reflect this. Soto Grado has officiated 15 La Liga matches for Barça with an unusual record for the club: five wins, three draws, and seven losses. This season alone, he has already been involved in two controversial incidents. On matchday 10, he refereed the Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Real Madrid won 2-1. His performance led to his immediate suspension after he needed VAR assistance in two crucial incidents: first, to overturn a penalty awarded against Lamine Yamal for a foul on Vinícius that was wrongly given, and then for a handball by Eric Garcia in the area that he failed to spot on the pitch.

On matchday 24, they faced Hansi Flick's men again at Montilivi. The match was marked by a decisive moment: Girona's winning goal came after Echeverri stepped on Jules Koundé's foot, a mistake neither Soto Grado nor VAR noticed. Ten days later, the CTA itself acknowledged the error in the program Review time.